By JOSH FRANK
Counterpunch, August 21 / 22, 2004
ON THURSDAY, AUGUST 20TH, THE Washington Post reported that the
Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has branded Ralph Nader a "bigot", which is a
furtive way of saying they think the independent candidate for president is
a vile anti-Semite. Nader has come under attack from the ADL and their
executive director Abe Foxman for suggesting that the US should proceed in
a new direction regarding the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
"The days when the chief Israeli puppeteer comes to the United States and
meets with the puppet in the White House and then proceeds to Capitol Hill,
where he meets with hundreds of other puppets, should be replaced. The
Washington Puppet Show should be replaced." Nader said in Washington DC
forum titled "The Muslim Vote -- Election 2004".
Nader's crack at Ariel Sharon for being the "chief Israeli puppeteer", and
his jab at George W. Bush for being Sharon's "puppet", didn't sit well with
the pro-Zionist defense organization. Nader's comments provoked a rejoinder
from the league which stated, "[Nader's] image of the Jewish state as a
'puppeteer,' controlling the powerful US Congress feeds into many age-old
stereotypes which have no place in legitimate public discourse."
Of course Nader wasn't speaking of Israel's control over all US policies,
but simply the US's special relationship with Sharon's occupying
government. But as usual, the penalty for condemning the Israeli military
establishment amounts to nothing less than being labeled a filthy Jew-hater
-- for which it seems Ralph Nader is not even immune.
Standing fearlessly behind his claim, Nader told Amy Goodman of Democracy
Now! that, "The truth here is that there is no balanced determination. The
U.S. government never connects with the deep and broad Israeli peace
movement They put 120,000 people in the square in Tel Aviv recently. You
would think that the U.S. government was not a puppet it would support the
deep Israeli peace movement -- which has been in touch with the Palestinian
peace advocates and has worked out more than one accord So, there should be
a debate. The two candidates Kerry, and Bush, are both pro-Israeli military
government."
Even if some progressives detest Ralph Nader's decision to run this year,
pro-Palestinian advocates must admit that it is gratifying to finally hear
such arguments made in the public arena -- for these criticisms have been
political faux-paus for far too long. And certainly Nader is right to point
out that little will change regarding the US and Israel if Kerry defeats
Bush in November. As Kerry exclaimed to a Georgetown University crowd in
January 2003, "Israel is our ally, the only true democracy in a troubled
regionAmerica has always been committed to Israel's independence and
survival. We will never waiver."
Ralph Nader isn't notorious for backing down from a fight, and hard-line
Zionists are always quick to throw the first sucker punch. So you can bet
this will not be the last of the anti-Semitic accusations hurled at Nader
by the ADL or other pro-Israel factions. It seems their only response to
allegations of the US's critical support for the brutal Israeli government,
or one's compassion for the Palestinian plight, is to label such
individuals as malicious Jew-hating-bigots. It just shows how insignificant
the ADL's charges have become. Ralph Nader is not David Duke. Even if they
want you to think so.